On-Screen Takeoff User Guide

Comprehensive documentation for how the application works and how to get the most out of your software investment.

01 Introduction to On-Screen Takeoff

On-Screen Takeoff 00 Welcome to Online Help

On-Screen Takeoff - 01.00 What Have You Gotten Yourself Into? An Introduction to the Application

On-Screen Takeoff - 01.01 System Requirements and Installation Instructions

On-Screen Takeoff - 01.02.01 Activating Your License to Unlock Full Functionality

On-Screen Takeoff - 01.03.01 How to Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Make Entering Information into OST Easier

02 The Projects Tab in Detail

On-Screen Takeoff - 02.01 A Detailed Look at the Projects Tab

On-Screen Takeoff - 02.02 Filtering the Projects Tab

On-Screen Takeoff - 02.03 Filtering the Projects Tab by Job Status

On-Screen Takeoff - 02.04 The Projects Tab Context Menu

03 Creating and Managing Bids, Alternates, and Change Orders

On-Screen Takeoff - 03.01 What are Projects, Bids, Jobs?

On-Screen Takeoff - 03.02 Creating a New Takeoff Project (Bid, Job)

On-Screen Takeoff - 03.03 Filling out the Cover Sheet - Step 1: Bid Information and Preferences

On-Screen Takeoff - 03.04 Filling out the Cover Sheet - Step 2: Adding Plans Using the Plan Organizer - OST

On-Screen Takeoff - 03.05 Adding a Single Page to A Project

04 The Takeoff Tab in Detail

On-Screen Takeoff - 04.00 A Detailed Look at The Takeoff Tab

On-Screen Takeoff - 04.01 Takeoff Tab - The Image Window (Plan viewing, markups, or drawing window)

On-Screen Takeoff - 04.01.01 Takeoff Tab - Image Window Context Menu

On-Screen Takeoff - 04.02 Takeoff Tab - Toolbars Overview

On-Screen Takeoff - 04.02.01 Takeoff Tab Page Navigation Toolbar

05 Creating Conditions and Layers

On-Screen Takeoff - 05.01 What Are Conditions?

On-Screen Takeoff - 05.02 What Are Layers? Why and How to Use Custom Layers

On-Screen Takeoff - 05.02.01 Adding Custom Layers to a Bid

On-Screen Takeoff - 05.02.02 Assigning a Condition to a Layer

On-Screen Takeoff - 05.03 Create a Condition from scratch - General Condition Properties (What are you measuring?)

06 Setting Scale and Drawing Takeoff (including Takeoff Boost™)

On-Screen Takeoff - 06.00 - Scale and Takeoff Overview

On-Screen Takeoff - 06.01 What is Scale and Why is it so Important?

On-Screen Takeoff - 06.01.01 Setting Page Scale

On-Screen Takeoff - 06.01.02 Calculating Page Scale Using a Known Linear

On-Screen Takeoff - 06.01.03 Verifying the Scale of a Plan

07 Bid Areas and Zones

On-Screen Takeoff - 07.01 How to Use Bid Areas to Separate Takeoff Quantities by Rooms, Floors, Buildings, etc.

On-Screen Takeoff - 07.02 Setting Up Bid Areas using Quick Add

On-Screen Takeoff - 07.03 Creating and Adjusting Sub-Areas (Areas Under other Areas)

On-Screen Takeoff - 07.04 Assigning Takeoff to a Bid Area

On-Screen Takeoff - 07.05 What are Zones? Why and How to Use Them

08 Annotations (Plan Markups) and the Image Legend

On-Screen Takeoff - 08.01 Drawing Annotations aka Plan Markups

On-Screen Takeoff - 08.02 Annotations - Dimension Lines

On-Screen Takeoff - 08.03 Annotations - Text and Textboxes

On-Screen Takeoff - 08.04 Annotations - Highlighter Tool

On-Screen Takeoff - 08.05 Annotations - Shapes (Callouts, Arrows, Lines, Rectangles, Ovals, Polygons, Clouds, and Ink)

09 Selecting and Editing Takeoff and Annotations

On-Screen Takeoff - 09.01 Selecting, Editing, and Deleting Takeoff and Annotation

On-Screen Takeoff - 09.02 Resizing Takeoff Objects

On-Screen Takeoff - 09.02.00 Adding or Removing Joints (Vertices) in Area Takeoff Objects

On-Screen Takeoff - 09.02.01 Splitting Linear Segments and Area Takeoff Objects

On-Screen Takeoff - 09.02.02 Adjusting the Angle of a Linear Object by Moving One Endpoint

10 Typical Groups, Typical Areas, and Repeating Pages

On-Screen Takeoff - 10.01 Use Typical Takeoff to Maximizing Your Efficiency

On-Screen Takeoff - 10.02 Typical Areas - Overview

On-Screen Takeoff - 10.02.01 Creating Typical Areas (Filling out the Typical Areas Grid)

On-Screen Takeoff - 10.02.02 Assigning Takeoff to a Typical Area

On-Screen Takeoff - 10.03 Typical Groups - Overview

11 Advanced Plan Organization and Overlays

On-Screen Takeoff - 11.01 Advanced Plan Organization

On-Screen Takeoff - 11.02 Improving Page Navigation: Making it Easier (more efficient) to Get Around Your Project

On-Screen Takeoff - 11.02.01 Renaming Pages (on the Cover Sheet and Takeoff Tab)

On-Screen Takeoff - 11.02.02 Collating Pages for Easier Navigation

On-Screen Takeoff - 11.02.03 Using Page Folders to Organize Your Plans by Discipline

12 The Summary Tab in Detail (Analzying Takeoff Results)

On-Screen Takeoff - 12.01 A Detailed Look at the Summary Tab

On-Screen Takeoff - 12.02 The Summary Tab Context Menus

On-Screen Takeoff - 12.03 Grouping and Sorting the Summary Tab

On-Screen Takeoff - 12.04 The Summary Tab Report

On-Screen Takeoff - 12.05 How Typical Areas are shown on the Summary Tab

13 The Estimate Tab in Detail (Unit Cost Worksheet)

On-Screen Takeoff - 13.01 A Detailed Look at the Estimate Tab

On-Screen Takeoff - 13.02 The Estimate Tab Context Menus

On-Screen Takeoff - 13.03 Grouping and Sorting the Estimate Tab

On-Screen Takeoff - 13.04 The Estimate Tab Report

14 Options for Pricing a Bid

On-Screen Takeoff - 14.00 Pricing Options

On-Screen Takeoff - 14.01 Creating a Rough Cost Estimate by Entering Unit Pricing on the Estimate Tab

On-Screen Takeoff - 14.02 Price A Bid Using Microsoft Excel

On-Screen Takeoff - 14.02.01 Price Using Excel - Selecting the Workbook

On-Screen Takeoff - 14.02.02 Price Using Excel - Linking a Condition to an Excel Cell or Named Range

15 Printing Plans, Takeoff, and Reports

On-Screen Takeoff - 15.01 Printing - Overview

On-Screen Takeoff - 15.02 Printing the Projects, Summary, and Estimate Tabs

On-Screen Takeoff - 15.03 Printing Plans, Takeoff, and Annotations

On-Screen Takeoff - 15.03.01 Printing - How Bid Areas and Layers Affect What Gets Printed

On-Screen Takeoff - 15.03.02 Printing - Using the Multiple Page View Selector

16 Importing and Exporting Bids, Takeoff, and Reports

On-Screen Takeoff - 16.01 Importing and Exporting - Overview

On-Screen Takeoff - 16.02 Print and Export the Projects Tab, Summary Tab, or Estimate Tab

On-Screen Takeoff - 16.03 Copying Rows of Data from the Summary or Estimate Tab

On-Screen Takeoff - 16.04 Exporting the Takeoff and Worksheet Tabs to CSV Files

On-Screen Takeoff - 16.05 Exporting Projects

17 Collaboration

On-Screen Takeoff - 17.01 What is Project Express and What Can I Do With It?

On-Screen Takeoff - 17.02 The Project Express Tab and Context Menu

On-Screen Takeoff - 17.03 Registering for a New Project Express Account

On-Screen Takeoff - 17.04 Signing into an Existing Project Express Account

On-Screen Takeoff - 17.05 Sending Projects and Project Updates using Project Express

18 Masters (Central Saved Data)

On-Screen Takeoff - 18.01 Masters - Overview

On-Screen Takeoff - 18.02 Masters: Employees

On-Screen Takeoff - 18.02.01 Masters: Importing an Employee List

On-Screen Takeoff - 18.03 Masters: Job Statuses

On-Screen Takeoff - 18.04 Masters: Condition Types

19 User Preferences and Program Options

On-Screen Takeoff - 19.01 Customizing the Application - Program Defaults, Settings, and Options

On-Screen Takeoff - 19.02 Program Options - General Tab (Adjusting How You Work with OST)

On-Screen Takeoff - 19.03 Program Options - New Projects (Setting Defaults)

On-Screen Takeoff - 19.04 Program Options - Fonts and Colors (Setting the Defaults for Annotations and the Image Legend)

On-Screen Takeoff - 19.05 Program Options - Sounds

20 Databases (Project Storage)

On-Screen Takeoff - 20.01 What is a Database and Why Do I Need One? - OST

On-Screen Takeoff - 20.02 Opening and Closing Databases

On-Screen Takeoff - 20.02.01 Finding an Access-type Database

On-Screen Takeoff - 20.02.02 Connecting to a Microsoft SQL Database

On-Screen Takeoff - 20.03 Creating a Microsoft Access Database